Re: [Sigia-l] the role of IAs in Data Journalism?

Eric

On Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 6:20 PM, eric scheid <[email protected]> wrote:
> I can see at least three arenas where IAs could be involved.
>
>    a) helping the original publishing of the data
>    b) helping journalists etc process third party data
>    c) helping to publish those stories, ie. making web sites

As you note, (b) is rather new for IAs. And I imagine that formal work
around it hasn't been done often. When you look at some of the major
data analysis work that's being done globally - high profile matters
such as the WikiLeaks cables, the Guardian's analysis of MPs expenses
and less publicly interesting material such as disaster management
data in the wake of fires and floods here in Australia as well as
major disasters such as the Pakistan floods and Haiti earthquake, IAs
are involved. Certainly, it's largely ad hoc at present. But it need
not be.

> Regardless, all three areas will require development of new skills and
> understandings.

Or simply an evolution of existing data analysis skills? IAs we both
no are ethnographers, psychologists, library scientists, journalists,
etc. by training. All those disciplines and our own which attracts
many disciplines as the source material are likely to be good at
analysing, structuring and drawing out information and knowledge from
data.

Naturally, there will be a turf war at some point and manifold
invocations of Godwin's Law as the arguments about who is best suited
take place. I'll be avoiding those and just driving away at doing good
work.

>> I'll be giving a talk at a conference in March around the issue of
>> open data (amongst other matters), it's intrinsic and often unrealised
>> social and economic value, with a particular focus on public sector
>> information (as the public sector is where I do the bulk of my work).
>
> Will you be also referencing Linked Data?

There was no specific intent, as the talk is about the development of
policy and governance of public servants engaging online with the
public, with aspects of open data in the sense of the public sector
releasing data into the public sphere as a way of exposing latent
economic and social value hidden in it. Linked data is a whole talk on
its own. But I can at least mention it; it's certainly related.

Steve
-- 
Stephen Collins
[email protected] | +61 410 680722 | @trib

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